Yr. Weekend, Pt. 2: The Tontons + The Octopus Project + Rattletree Marimba + Texas In Your Face Fest + Joe Pug + More

Another awesome night of music going on tonight, Saturday, March 1st — there’s so much going on, in fact, that I’m gonna have to skip mentioning a fair bit of it. Here’s what looks like the top of the list, at least to me:

The Tontons (record release)/The Octopus Project/Buxton/Freddy Beach @ Warehouse Live
Yes, yes, yes, YES. Damn, I love {The Tontons} — beyond the fact that they’re one of the best and brightest hopes for H-town music becoming known beyond the Beltway, they’re also one of the most flat-out awesome bands I’ve ever seen live.

It’s due in large part to the band’s mesmerizing frontwoman, Asli Omar, who’s slinky and sultry but electrifying as all hell at the same time, but also to the laid-back skill of bandmates Adam Martinez, Justin Martinez, & Tom Nguyen; the music they craft together is an awesome, this great mashup of soul, psych-rock, and pop that blows away a whole lot of music that makes headlines these days.

Tonight’s the release party up at Warehouse Live for the band’s new album, Make Out King and Other Stories of Love, which is really damn great; expect a review of it soon, I swear. In the meantime, take a listen on Bandcamp:

They’re playing with some similarly awesome people, too, like electro-pop icons The Octopus Project and great roots-folk rockers {Buxton}, so get on up there now to catch as much of the show as you can, alright?

Joel Laviolette & Rattletree Marimba @ The Orange Show (7PM)
The Orange Show has a very cool show going on right now, with Austin’s fairly unique Joe Laviolette & Rattletree Marimba. They’re pretty much the only marimba ensemble I’ve ever even heard of, and while I’ve yet to see ’em live, they look pretty ridiculously hypnotic and fun in videos, at least. Check it out:

Longtime fans of Houston music may recognize the guy over there on the left side of the stage — that’s Daniel Mee, formerly of The Jonx and nowadays dwelling up in Austin. (And, erm, playing marimbas, obviously.)

Texas In Your Face Fest, featuring Rockett Queen, Rooster and the Cheeseburger, The Swamps, Punk Rock Project, Avid Fixation, The Bloody Von Erichs, Meganaut, Fuska, Killing Clover, The Grizzly Band, The Hates, Alvin and the Slickpunks, Beer Belly Badasses, Saturate, Soul In Tension, Awaken the Siren, Mama Tried, & Sweeve @ The Crossroads at Harrisburg (6719 Harrisburg; 12PM-2AM, $15/$21)
Yeah, this show’s already been going on for several hours now, but it’s still on now, and it still looks like a hell of a lot of fun, with a bill packed full of badass punk, ska, and rock bands, including legends {The Hates} and bluesy, gritty rawk outfit {Mama Tried}. Not really clear on the venue, by the by, other than I know it’s relatively new and kind of on the DIY side of things; the idea, I think, is to make the place sort of an artist/performance venue, which is always cool in my book.

Joe Pug/Lisa Morales @ McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
Last but not least, then, there’s a great-sounding dual lineup over at the Mucky Duck, which includes not only local songstress Lisa Morales and (better still, at least to me) seriously talented singer/songwriter Joe Pug. If you’ve never heard the latter, trust me when I say that he’s really, really damn good.

Runners-Up:
Brumes/Starlight Cinema/The Bad Drugs @ Rudyard’s (free!)
Absu/The Black Moriah/War Master/Oath of Cruelty @ Fitzgerald’s
Vertigo Blue/BLSHS/Technicolor Hearts/Via Voltage @ Notsuoh ($5/$10)
Will to Die/Blistered/Pulled Under/Sold Short/Drown @ Walter’s
Night of Chaos, featuring Agony Within, Christ Malformation, Annihilist, Hail Beast, K.T.C.M., Serpent Attack, Virulent, Toxic Steel, Moral Distrust, & Plague @ 14322 Picton Dr. (4PM-1AM)
Big Boys BDay Bash, featuring The Black 13, Randabis, Shane Jones, Five Eyes Wide, Born & Raised, Breaking The Cycle, Alejandro Carcagamo, The Hero Must Die, Supremacy, & Zach Phelps @ BFE Rock Club
The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band/Dom Flemon/Dex Romweber @ Warehouse Live (Studio)
Soul Sessions, featuring DJ Tempty @ MKT Bar (1001 Austin; 8-11PM)
The Rads @ Union Tavern (435 El Dorado; Clear Lake)